Radioactive
by HappyHollyWolly
Summary: "Those closest are keeping more secrets from you than you know, Elena." Aria Gilbert was presumed dead after a car accident in 2009. Her body was never found. Two years later, a chance meeting with a stranger means the opportunity of escape. Aria Gilbert is ready to live her life again in a town that only bares the same name as the one she grew up in. Everything has changed.
1. Prelude

**Summary: **_"Those closest are keeping more secrets from you than you know, Elena." Aria Gilbert was presumed dead after a car accident in 2009. Her body was never found. Two years later, a chance meeting with a stranger means the opportunity of escape. Aria Gilbert is ready to live her life again in a town that only bares the same name as the one she grew up in. Everything has changed._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries. The only thing I own is Aria. This is none profit. All rights are reserved for the owners.**

_**I actually have no idea where this came from. It came to me and I was just like, 'Let's go with it.' It is going to be a mixture of flashbacks, both pre-show and alternate universe, and Season 5 Vampire Diaries. Flashback will be shown in Italics. So without further** **adieu...**_

* * *

**prelude**

Damon's eyes slowly opened and pain immediately erupted his his temple. Groaning, he felt the hard ground underneath him. The memory of what happened returned. Aaron Whitmore shot him in the head. '_What a great guy?' _Damon thought. He had just revealed how he killed all of Aaron's family, most recently his aunt Sarah as little as a few months ago.

"Guess I had that coming," He muttered, finally opening his eyes up fully.

"He wakes," An unfamiliar voice spoke. Damon immediately sat up and looked into the neighboring cell. Where Elena once was kept was now occupied by another dark haired female. She sat with her back against the rough stony wall. Her long legs, exposed by her skirt, were stretched out in front of her, one foot crossing over the other. Her dark curls, which shielded her face, fell back as she lifted her bowed head. She chuckled to herself, looking at the gunshot wound to his head. "Gee, dude. What did you do to deserve that?"

Damon stared at the girl, her face ringing bells in his mind. She hadn't changed in over two years. Why would she? She was obviously a vampire now. An Augustine vampire. His mind brought him back to the night he first met Elena.

**_9:38 p.m. __May 23rd, 2009, Mystic Falls, VA. _**

_"You want a love that consumes you. You want passion, an adventure and, even, a little danger." He told her, staring deep into her eyes. Elena looked on cautiously at the stranger. They had never met before, yet, he seemed to know everything about her. Everything she wanted. _

_"And what do you want?" She asked him, and he paused. He opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by someone approaching them. They both turned to see who it was. _

_"There's my little sister," A young girl, no older than 18, called out as she walked, or more like stumbled, over to the pair. She clearly had been drinking. She couldn't even walk in a straight line. _

_"It's my sister," Elena told him, turning around again. This time he was much closer_

_"I want you to get everything your're looking for," He ordered, his pupils dilating as he compelled her. "But, right now I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing I'm in town yet. Goodnight, Elena." And with that he was gone. By the time Elena come around to where she was, her sister was no more than two feet away from her. Damon stood in the darkness of the nearby trees watching, listening. _

_"Elena," the girl slurred, a smile spreading across her face._

_"You're drunk," Elena said, as her older sister wrapped her arms around her neck, steadying herself on Elena's body. _

_"Just a tad," she said, holding up her fingers to indicate how much. "Who was that? I thought I heard someone."_

_"What are you talking about?" Elena asked, confused. Damon felt safe knowing the compulsion worked. "Come on, Aria. Mom and Dad will be here soon. Let's try and get you sobered up."_

"Quit staring at me, you weirdo," She continued to laugh. "I'm Aria, by the way."


	2. Chapter One

**Summary: **_"Those closest are keeping more secrets from you than you know, Elena." Aria Gilbert was presumed dead after a car accident in 2009. Her body was never found. Two years later, a chance meeting with a stranger means the opportunity of escape. Aria Gilbert is ready to live her life again in a town that only bares the same name as the one she grew up in. Everything has changed._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries. The only thing I own is Aria. This is none profit. All rights are reserved for the owners.**

* * *

**_'At the end of the day, it isn't where I came from. Maybe home is somewhere I'm going and never have been before.'_**

**_- Warsan Shire_**

"You know it's common courtesy to tell me your name too," Aria continued. Damon just stared at her. She rose her eyebrows and looked away awkwardly. "Okay then." She put her hands on the ground and pushed herself up. The ground was no longer cold to her. It was never cold to begin with. She guessed it was a vampire thing. She walked over to the bars that separated her cell from his and hunkered down. "Let's try this again, I'm Aria." She extended her hand between the bars for him to shake.

"I know you," Damon said, finally. Aria retracted her hand immediately.

"What?"

"You're Elena's sister," he told her and Aria's mouth fell open. She never liked to think about her sister, or her remaining family for that matter. It hurt too much to do so. In the two years she's been here, she eventually stopped crying herself to sleep at night. But, the wavering feeling never went away. What was her family doing right now? Did they mourn her? Are they coping? And how? So many questions swirled through her mind that first year. Aria soon dealt with them. She knew they would have moved on and were happy. That's all Aria told herself when she did think on them.

"You know Elena?" Aria asked, resting her bare knees on the ground. Damon simply nodded. "H-how is she?"

"She's been better," Damon said, thinking back to their last conversation. She must hate him for lying. "She thinks you're dead."

"I am dead," Aria said, with a chuckle. "Well, undead."

"So, is she," he replied quickly. Aria's face fell at the revelation. Her sister was a vampire too.

"What?" she said, sadly. It did sadden her to know her little sister was also a vampire. Elena was always so loving and maternal. She should have married Matt and had kids. Not this. Aria chuckled at a thought. "Well, thank god our parents are dead. Imagine their reactions to their two daughters being vampires."

"She was here too. I don't know if she got out or she's still here," Damon said, standing up. Aria pulled herself up on the bars. Her strength wasn't great. She got her ration of blood every day and that was it. It was enough to keep her moving. Never enough to get out of here. "I need to find her. I need to get out."

"Good luck, these cells are built to hold vampires," Aria said, leaning on the bars. "I've tried it, they're too strong." Damon eyes scanned the ground before looking up at his girlfriends sister. He appeared to have an idea in his blue eyes. He turns around and fires a punch straight into the stone wall. Then, another. "What are you doing?" Another follows and Aria can start to see a small hole being left in the stone. "Dude, there's another cell on the other side of that wall. You're not getting out of here."

"I've a plan," He turned around and told her. He turned around against and looked at the wall. "And it's Damon." He punched the wall again.

"Then do you mind sharing this plan, _Damon?_" Aria asked, handing her hand through the bars. He continued to punch the wall under little pieces began to fall off. He bent down and picked one up. Of course, Aria only being twenty years old, although stuck in an eighteen year old body, couldn't help but stare at his ass.

"Aaron Whitmore dropped a bullet when he was loading up," Damon said, as he reached out from between the bars to grab the stray bullet laying on the ground. Standing up, Aria watched as he inserted the bullet into the lock hole. "If I can set it off, it should weaken the lock enough for me to break."

"What tells you that it's going to work?" Aria asked, arching one eyebrow.

"Because I'm always right, okay."

"Whatever," Aria said unconvincingly, raising her arms in defeat. "Just to say, if this works, you have to get me out of here too." Damon turned to look at her. Her deep brown eyes were glassed with fear. "I've already endured two years."

"Try five," Damon added in, memories of the fifties filling his mind.

"But, something bad is coming," Aria said, the fear she felt evident in her voice. "Dr. Maxfield is planning something and it's not good. I need to get out of here. Before he decided that I'm the perfect test subject, Damon." He hesitated before her. "Please." She extended her arm through the bars.

"Deal," He said shaking her delicate hand. "Stand back." Aria turned her face away as Damon hit the lock with the rock in his hand. It exploded in a flash of light and Aria looked back to see it hadn't moved an inch. Damon tried pulling the bars.

"Told you it wouldn't work," Aria said, as he continued to pull it. He stood back and lifted his foot, kicking it several times. The door eventually swung open on it's hinges and Aria looked over at him. "I take it back. Now, get me out of here."

-X-

"4.1 pints drained," Wes said, speaking into his recorder. He moved over to Elena's body, which was laying on a metal slab. Metal ties around her legs, waist and wrists made it impossible for her to break free. He shone a light in her eyes, and she moved slightly. Weak from the blood loss and tied down, all Elena could do was moan. "83182 still shows signs of consciousness. Note that 15 years ago subject 12144 faded into unconsciousness after losing 2.9 pints." As she came around even more slightly, Elena tried to break free with little luck. Looking around, she sees the machine behind her. The one draining her of blood. "Evolution or luck? Mystery for another day."

"What are you doing to me?" Elena attempted to break free again. It was no use. Even a fully fed vampire couldn't break free from the metal harness that was pinning her to the table. "What are these tubes? Let me go!"

"Relax. I plan to once I'm through with you." Wes said, also writing down his scientific findings.

"My friends are going to find me."

"Your heroic vampire friends?" he asked, adjusting the settings on his dialysis machine. It was time to slow down the blood extraction. "Did you know Aaron Whitmore spent his entire life thinking his family was haunted by some death curse? Turns out that curse was your boyfriend systematically killing every member on his family tree. I'm curious. How does one justify that in their mind?"

"And this, holding people against their will, torturing them? How do you justify that?" she asked back. The revelation of what Damon had done was still fresh in Elena's mind. She knew Damon was a bad person before he came back to Mystic Falls, but she didn't want to believe that he still was. Obviously there was a reason for it. He was tortured for five years by those people. Who wouldn't want to enact revenge? But, did he have to go to such lengths.

"Science." Wes picked up a journal laying on the laboratory table and began to read an extract. "'_June 25, 1999. Incredible findings today. After enduring 3,000 volts of electricity, the subject continues to have a heartbeat. June 26. More success. Subject was exposed to 4,000 volts today. Seizing continues after electrocution. Flesh remains hot to the touch.'"_

"You're a monster," Elena told him.

"This isn't my journal, Elena," Wes turned the book around to show her the pages. "These are the hand-written medical findings of Dr. Grayson Gilbert, your father." Elena looked on and seen the handwriting. It was in fact her fathers. But why? Why would he do this? She knew her family were anti-vampire, but would he go as far as torturing them...for 'science'? "Those closest to you are keeping more secrets from you than you know, Elena," he said, leaning over her restrained body. "Everything I'm doing to you I learned from him."

-X-

The car sped down the road back into Mystic Falls, passing it's famous town sign. Aria sat in the passenger side, staring out the window, while Damon drove. They soon made their over Wickery Bridge. Aria looked down into the water, remembering that faithful night. The night she died.

**_9:57 p.m. May 23rd, 2009 Mystic Falls, VA _**

_"I hope you know the seriousness of this, Aria," Miranda told her drunken daughter. Her, along with her husband, had picked up her two oldest children from a party on the outskirts of town. Only when they arrived, they found their eldest daughter Aria in a drunken state. "As soon as we get home, you are grounded for the next month. Do you hear me?"_

_"Loud and clear," Aria slurred from her seat behind her mother. _

_"Miranda, she's a teenager," Grayson tried to reason with his wife, looking over at her. "And legally an adult."_

_"I don't care," Miranda said, folding her arms. "She's still my daughter and I have the right to ground her. No matter what age is - look out!" Grayson snapped his head back to see a deer standing in the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid it, only then taking in his surroundings. They were crossing Wickery Bridge. Everyone in the car began to scream as they crashed through the barriers and landed in the water. Everyone in the car was thrown forward, leading to Aria hitting her head on the seat in front of her. Water and screams filled the car as black dots clouded Aria's vision. Her hearing slowly faded, and the cries of her family were silenced in darkness. Just before she lost consciousness, she was sure she heard her mother call her and her sisters names. _

Aria snapped out of it when she heard a car door slam. She looked around to see she was at the Salvatore Boarding House. The manor was on the Mystic Falls side of Wickery Bridge and always looked creepy to Aria as a child. Her parents used to go their to take to Zach about 'Council stuff' as they called it. Damon was walking towards the porch when Aria got out of the car.

"What are we doing here?" Aria asked, following behind him.

"Why wouldn't I be here?" Damon asked rhetorically, turning the door knob. "I live here."

"You're a Salvatore," she stated.

"Did I leave part out?" Aria followed the man through the front door of the house. They were immediately met by Katherine wearing sporting gear and a cap.

"What happened to you?" She asked, scoffing at Damon's ruffled appearance. She looked over Aria, who stopped in her presence. Aria looked on, believing her to be Elena. Her mouth fell open as she stared at her. "And who is the groupie?"

"Aria, Katherine," Damon said, pointing his finger between them. Aria looked over at Damon baffled. '_Katherine? That's Elena. I'm pretty sure what my sister looks like, moron' _Aria thought. "Aria, Elena is Katherine's doppelganger and Katherine, Aria is Elena's sister."

"What?" Aria asked, a little confused. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Doppelgangers? I don't know what kind of trick your trying to play here, James Dean, but, I know what my sister looks like. That's Elena."

"You do not want _that _to be Elena, trust me," Damon told her. Aria was a little taken a back. Then it came to her. She was a vampire. Who says doppelgangers don't exist, too. Along with witches, mermaids and unicorns. "Speaking of which, Elena's not here by any chance, is she?"

"I haven't seen her," Katherine answered, walking past the two Augustine's "Not that I've been looking."

"Stef, you awake?"

"You know, he hasn't seen her either." Katherine continued, smiling satisfactorily. "I know because we were together all night."

"What a way to lay off the sexual innuendo, _Katherine,_" Aria said, walking down the steps and into the living room. Katherine continued to smile.

"If you're implying what I think you're implying-" Damon began, but was cut off by the newly turned, and dying, human.

"Why? What were you thinking?" Katherine stated sarcastically. "That our hot, naked bodies collided in one unforgettable night of passion?"

"I like her," Aria chuckled from her stance in front of the fire place. Katherine smiled at her.

"No, you don't," Damon told her. "I'm gonna barf."

"Great. Then my work here is done." Katherine said happily, turning to exit the house. "Toodles."

"Ugh," Damon shudders at the thought of Stefan and _Katherine_.

"What now?" Aria asked, extending her arms. Honestly, she couldn't wait for this to be over so she could go home and change. Being in the same clothes for two years isn't nice as it sounds. Little did she know everything she had is gone.

"We consult Hugh Hefner upstairs," Damon said, speeding up the stairs. Aria watched in awe. She never knew vampires could do that. She ran up the stairs after him, although not as fast. Upstairs she heard voices coming from a room down the hall. She followed them into a dark, messy bedroom. In there stood Damon and Stefan. Stefan recognized her immediately. He had seen the photo's Elena kept. Aria was her older sister who, supposedly, died with her parents. It soon came to him what she had become.

"Dude, you need to show me how to do that sometime," Aria said, looking over at the younger Salvatore brother.

"I also found a little something along the way," Damon told his confused, and slightly concerned, looking brother. "Back on topic, Elena's not picking up her phone, she's not in her dorm, she's nowhere in this house, which leads me to believe that Dr. Creepy Ken-doll has her somewhere."

"Are you talking about the Whitmore bio teacher?"

"No, not Dr. Maxfield," Aria shook her head. Fear shook her body. That man was the only person she's ever been truly scared of in her life. "God knows what he is doing. He's the most twisted of the lot."

"Exactly," Damon said, pointing at his younger brother. "Put your hero hair on, Stefan. Let's go get Elena."

"You just said you don't know where she is," Stefan stated and Damon turned around at the door.

"I don't, which means we're gonna have to find us some leverage." Damon filled him in. "So come on." Aria followed the Salvatore brothers downstairs and back into the living room, until Damon stopped her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going too."

"No, you're not," Damon told her.

"Try and stop me," Aria said, barging past him. "Elena's my sister, Damon. I'm not going to stand her and wait for her to be turned into a monster."

"No, Damon's right," Stefan stopped her before she could go any further. "Everyone thinks you're dead. It's best you stay here. Avoid any unnecessary tailbacks."

"What am I supposed to do here?" Aria asked, as Damon lead the way to the door.

"Read a book or something, kiddo," He told her, walking out of the house with Stefan hot on his heels. Aria angrily crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed.

* * *

**Sorry about it being so short guys. Don't worry, from Chapter Three onwards will be a lot longer. I just wanted to split this one into two because, I want the next one to be mainly centered around Aria and her reunions with number of different people in her life; Jeremy, Elena etc etc. Chapter Two is mainly going to be like a big reunion of sorts. There will be tears and fights and happiness, all rolled into one. This chapter is still quite leading you into the fanfiction. It's an introduction to her character, her way of thinking, her humor, her fears etc. **

**Also there is an emergence of a relationship between Damon and Aria. Don't worry Delena shippers. I have no plans, at the minute, for them to get together. However, Delena will still break up in the next chapter. So, I do apologize, but Daria (winky face) will be a friendship, as far as I know. I'm saying that because, further down the line, my feelings could change about that and you might see them become more than friends. I don't know at the minute, so take it that they won't be getting together any time soon, okay. **

**Anyway, I hope you liked it! I won't ask for reviews, just your views are enough to motivate me at the minute. But, if you want to, go ahead and review ;)**

_**Riana Salvatore:** Then don't read it. I plan for that to be a big part of this fanfiction, so if you don't it that way. Then don't read it. I don't want to rude or anything, but I'm sure there is plenty of other fan fictions that don't include the whole traveler thing. You never know either, you might come around. But, I'm not forcing you. _

**_reviewer101: _**_Thanks for the fantastic review. I will take it all on board and I like how stoked you are for this. I hope it doesn't get too predicable for you. No Damon/OC pairing, as I said above. I have a few things on the cards right now, but you'll have to wait and see. They might now pan out or they might turn into an epic love story. I don't even know. I've only planned to a certain point. The Katherine/Elena drama will be a big part of this, because this will be mainly centered around family and rebuilding her relationships with everyone for the first whatever chapters. So that will throw a big spanner in the works for Aria and Elena sisterly relationship. I can't really answer anymore without giving too much away, but I hope you liked this one. _


End file.
